The SCA ruled that the justice and constitutional development minister had a constitutional obligation to process the applications before the country's president considered them.

The minister was appealing against an order by the High Court in Pretoria directing his predecessor to do all things necessary to enable the president to consider 384 applications for pardons, submitted on behalf of Inkatha Freedom Party members for the period September to October 2003.

The high court also declared that the previous minister had failed to exercise her constitutional obligation to process the applications without delay, and to do all that was necessary to enable the president to exercise his powers.

The High Court in Pretoria previously ordered that all must be done within three months from the date of the order ? to enable the president to consider them.

In dismissing the minister's appeal the SCA upheld the high court's order.

The matter relates to Mqabukeni Chonco, who on his own behalf and that of 383 others, approached the high court for relief after their applications for pardons were not considered.

All of them were currently in prison serving long jail sentences for apartheid-era offences.

None of them applied to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for amnesty because according to them their political party, the IFP did not support the commission.

Their applications were addressed to the president, but were forwarded by the IFP, on their behalf, to the then justice minister. This was done on the instructions of a senior official in the minister's office.

IFP chief whip Koos van der Merwe said the judgment followed a five-year-long battle for the rights of the prisoners. It had seen the party take its case to the Human Rights Commission, the high court, Amnesty International and the SCA.